Spoken For
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: Damon Salvatore thought he knew everything there was to know about his best friend, Elena Gilbert. When he discovers that there are things about her she's kept from him, such as a secret crush, well, things get complicated by unexpected jealousy mingled with curiosity. Damon/Elena AU/AH
1. Secrets

Spoken For  
>DG32173<p>

Sarah: I've been reading a number of AU/AH Delena stories lately and figured I could try my hand at one of my own. I hope everyone enjoys.

_**CREDIT**_  
>Credit goes to my outstanding beta for all his wonderful help and his incredible amount of patience in putting up with my wayward muse. Thanks, Cameron.<p>

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
>If I, my beta, or a reviewer is responsible for the creation and use of a concept in this story, I will put a credit section like the one above and give credit for ownership of that concept. Otherwise it is safe to assume that it is copyrighted to someone with a much bigger bank account than mine.<p>

_**WARNINGS**_  
>ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! All human. Rated M for more than just my sanity. Alternating views between Damon and Elena. Damon's view this first chapter.<p>

_**SUMMARY**_  
>Damon Salvatore thought he knew everything there was to know about his best friend, Elena Gilbert. When he discovers that there are things about her she's kept from him, such as a secret crush, well, things get complicated by unexpected jealousy mingled with curiosity. <em><strong>DamonElena**_

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><p>Chapter 1<br>Secrets

"Are you going to be bringing another one home?" Elena asks, not looking up from her textbook.

"Why? Jealous?" I tease.

"Just wanting to know if I should make myself scarce this evening," she replies smoothly. "You don't want a repeat of Heather, do you?"

"Who's Heather?" I ask, frowning.

"Short, spiky hair dyed a blinding shade of blue with cocoa colored eyes. Raised a _huge_ fuss two weeks ago today when you brought her here and she caught sight of me coming out of the bathroom in my PJs and assumed I was your girlfriend. Took you thirty minutes to calm her down enough to tell her that no, I am _not_ your girlfriend and an hour more to convince her that I'm just your best friend slash roomie. By then, you were no longer interested in doing anything more than kicking her out. We watched all three Spiderman movies and dined on Chinese delivery," she recites, glancing up at me. "You nearly choked on your fortune cookie when I told you she's in my Psych 101 class."

"Oh, her," I say, shrugging. "I'm not picking up any girls tonight. Gonna be hanging with the guys at The Grill, shooting pool and the like."

"Good, then you won't mind if I invite Caroline, Bonnie, and Rebekah over for a girls' night, right?" she ask, making the puppy face at me. I scrunch my nose at her. "C'mon, Damon. You know damn well how long it's been since the last time I got to hang out with them for an entire evening. Our schedules are so diverse that it's a miracle we're able to even say 'hi' as we pass each other on campus. I got word from them while you were in the shower that they are all miraculously free this evening and want to meet up. And it _is_ my turn to host the get together."

I groan. "Fine. Just don't have the apartment smelling like a salon when I get back. And _please_ don't trash the place," I all but beg. "I don't want to find feathers in the toaster _ever_ again."

She rolls her eyes. "Damon, seriously, the pillow fight was to distract Caroline because of her temporary breakup with Klaus," she points out. "You know how she gets if something doesn't distract her immediately after he breaks things off as things get busy. Better feathers in the toaster than nail polish on the walls. Remember _that_ one?"

I groan again. "I thought I told you to _never_ mention that event around me again," I tell her. "We had to repaint the entire apartment and we were living with my _brother_ while the paint dried and the fumes cleared out."

"Better _your_ brother than mine," she points out. "At least Rebekah makes sure their place is neat. I have never set foot in Jeremy's apartment after moving him into it and I don't plan on doing so any time soon."

I roll my eyes. "I should get going. I'm going to be late. You call the girls. Have fun tonight, Elena," I tell her.

"Don't get so drunk that Matt has to call me to come pick your ass up. I still stand by my word of making your life a misery if I have to do that again. And you know damn well I'm capable of doing just that," she says.

I wince. I know full well what she's capable of when she wants to make someone's life completely miserable and I know it from personal experience. "I'll be careful," I promise.

"Oh, and tell Rick to say 'hi' to Jenna for me," she says. "I'm gonna study for another half hour before calling the girls. God knows I won't be getting any study time after they arrive and that Psych test is Friday."

With that, she tucks her pert little nose back into her textbook. I shake my head with a grin and make my way out of our two-bedroom apartment. I know Elena and I know that as soon as I shut the apartment door behind me, she's going to be on the phone to her girlfriends and telling them to get their asses over to our apartment ASAP. And I also know that she has absolutely _no_ need to study for her Psych test because she will pass it with flying colors. She is quite literally a genius, after all. Ever since she was five, she's been dreaming of being a psychological analyst with the FBI as her day job and a supernatural romance writer in her spare time. She's already got one New York Times best-seller that flies off the shelves almost as soon as it's stocked. And I have my own personal copy, signed by the authoress. She gave it to me as a birthday present last year, just two days after it went into print. She swore up and down that the copy she gave me was quite _literally_ the first off the press. And I believe her.

I shake my head free of thoughts of Elena and climb behind the wheel of my dusty blue 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible. As I start the engine I glance up toward the window that leads into our living room. As expected, Elena's looking down at me. I stick my arm out the window and wave. She waves back. The window is too far away to see her expression but I'm sure she's smiling. I pull out of the apartment complex's parking lot and turn my Camaro in the direction of the Grill.

By the time I arrive, I see that most of the other guys have made it. I find a parking spot and climb out. I lock up my car before heading inside. As I near the largest table in the room, the only one big enough to hold a group our size, Stefan spots me and says something. Immediately, they all stop talking and gain innocent expressions.

"Okay, why are we talking about Elena tonight?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as I take the chair between Stefan and Rick.

"Who says we were talking about Elena?" Jeremy asks.

"Because you all shut up as soon as Stefan spotted me," I retort, signaling a waitress. She nods and signals she'll bring my glass of bourbon in a minute. The staff here knows all of us and our preferences. "History of such an occurrence proves that you were talking about Elena just prior to my arrival and knew damn well that if I found out there was talk about her that I knew she wouldn't like, I'd tell her and the ones who were making that talk would have their asses handed to them by a five-foot-seven brunette with a black belt in three different fields of martial arts. So, do I have to tell her that you lot shut up on a topic about her as soon as I was spotted and let her assume worst case scenario or are you going to start talking and tell me what the hell you were talking about?"

I can tell you right now that it takes a great deal to take the macho out of my friends. But the mere _hint_ that Elena might assume worst case scenario on a discussion about her has all of them wincing. "It's nothing big," Jeremy admits. "It's just Stefan, Klaus, and I were talking about our girlfriends and then Tyler mentioned that there is one girl we know who hasn't had a single _serious_ date in _years._ We realized he was right and we were trying to figure out what was up with that. You're never serious about anyone so we figured you'd rather not talk about it."

I frown. "Dude, she's my best friend," I point out. "You _honestly_ think I _wouldn't_ want to discuss why she hasn't gone on a second date since she was fourteen?"

They exchange startled looks. "We knew it's been years since she last got beyond the first date but are you serious about it being _seven_ years?" Rick asks, dumbfounded.

"Who do you think she came crying to when she caught that bastard cheating on her?" I retort. He grimaces. "I helped stop her tears, made her laugh, let her fall asleep on the boarding house sofa, then went and kicked the shit out of him. The asshole was her first and last boyfriend. She says she's too busy to bother with dating. I pointed out that hasn't stopped her from hanging with her friends. She shrugged and said she hasn't been asked out by anyone who was worth a second date. I agree because I had our good Sherriff do a background check on each of the guys she went out with. Nothing major against them, but they were all douchebags who weren't worthy of even a _first_ date with her." The guys exchange knowing looks and secret grins, causing me to frown. "Okay, what is with you lot?"

"You sure look after her," Jeremy says slowly.

"And don't bother saying it's what any friend would do," Klaus interrupts me as I open my mouth to say just that.

"What are you guys trying to imply?" I demand, accepting my bourbon from the waitress.

"You care about her," Stefan points out.

"A _lot,"_ Tyler adds.

"Not to mention she's practically the _only_ girl in the area that you _haven't_ hooked up with," Matt adds.

I roll my eyes. "Idiots, I live with her. She's been my best friend pretty much since she was born. It would be only a hundred kinds of awkward if I try to hook up with her. Not to mention the fact that she'll most likely say 'no'. Besides, she deserves better than a one-night stand," I point out.

"You could give her better than that," Klaus points out.

"Yeah, there's still the fact that she'll most likely say 'no'," I retort. "She knows I'm not one for the whole settling down and being devoted crap."

"Have you ever wondered why she _really_ blares her music in her ears or makes herself scarce when you choose to take a girl home?" Jeremy asks curiously.

"What are you even getting at?" I demand.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Jeremy says. "Seriously, man, you must be blind."

"Okay, I think this topic needs to be dropped," I say firmly. "I came here to chill with you guys over some pool and drinks, _not_ to discuss this nonsense. Either drop it or I'm leaving."

They decide to drop it.

Four hours later

I give myself a mental pat on the back for cutting myself off from alcohol after only two glasses. Elena will be so proud of me. I unlock the door to the apartment and step inside. Something tells me to stay quiet when I realize the girls don't realize I'm back. I carefully and silently shut the door.

"Elena, are you ever going to tell him?" Bonnie's voice asks from the living room.

I frown and duck into the kitchen. I have a feeling that I'm going to find out something I actually hadn't known about Elena.

"There's nothing to tell," Elena says.

"Jeez, Lena, you like the guy. You need to tell him." That would be Caroline. And who the hell does Elena like?

"I can't. I just can't. It would ruin everything," Elena says softly.

"How do you know? Maybe it will make him wake up and see what's right in front of him!" Rebekah snaps.

"More likely it will make him run for the hills and kick me out of his life. I'm not going to risk it. I'd rather friendship than nothing," Elena says firmly. "Besides, he's never shown the least sign of being interested in me like that."

"Because he's so used to you just being there that he hasn't really seen what he's been missing!" Caroline says impatiently.

What the hell have I stumbled into? Who is it that Elena likes? And how can the idiot be so _blind_ as to not realize it?

"Guys, we've been going at this since you arrived. And you've been at the topic like a terrier with a bone for over a year now. Give it a rest. I am not telling him. Besides, he deserves someone special. Someone who'll light up his whole world just by walking in the room. And as much as I hate to say it, I just haven't been able to do that. God knows I've tried to get him to notice me. But it's like all he sees is a sister when he looks at me. And really, I'm okay with that." She's _lying._ I can hear it in her voice. Whoever this dick is, he is tearing her apart by not realizing what's right in front of him. "Please, guys. Just let it go. I've accepted that he's not going to see me as anything more than a sister and a really good friend. I'd rather that than nothing at all."

"Elena, you know as well as I do that you _haven't_ tried everything you can do to get him to notice you," Rebekah says.

"How about this, complete makeover, this weekend, on us," Caroline suggests. "If we can't get him to see you after we're done with you, we'll concede defeat."

"I don't know," Elena says hesitantly.

"Consider it a post exams celebration if it makes you feel better," Bonnie says.

Exams? This is exam week? I glance at the calendar thumbtacked to the wall by the fridge and realize that it _is_ about the time for the fall exams to take place.

"You're not going to let me get out of it, are you?" Elena asks with a sigh.

"Nope," Rebekah affirms. "By the time we're done with you, there won't be a guy in town whose jaw won't have to be picked up off the ground. _Including_ our boyfriends. Now, we'll be over bright and early Saturday morning, so don't do anything crazy Friday night."

"Have I _ever_ done anything crazy the night before you guys say you'll be over bright and early?" Elena asks grumpily. "I wish you three would wait until a decent hour instead of the crack of dawn. Damon was complaining for a week the last time you guys came banging on the door 'bright and early'."

"You two need to see more sunshine, Elena. It's like you're trying to turn into vampires or something," Caroline says.

"I have never been a morning person. Neither has Damon. And you know that," Elena says.

I realize that I'm not going to get anything else on the subject of the mystery guy who's tearing Elena apart by not recognizing what's right in front of him. I sneak back to the front door, open it, and shut it loudly. "I'm back," I call as I walk into the living room. "You'll be proud of me, Elena. I only had two glasses of bourbon," I tell her.

She wrinkles her nose at me cutely. "Good job. Anyways, be prepared to have your Saturday morning ruined because these three decided to take me out 'bright and early'."

I groan, theatrically placing a hand over my heart. "My sleep!" I exclaim. "What will I ever do without my Saturday morning of peace and quiet?"

Elena giggles. "I'm sure you'll make do. It's not like you have any trouble getting back to sleep once someone's woken you up," she points out.

"So, what will you be doing?" I ask, crossing my arms and grinning at her.

"It's no secret," Elena says with a shrug. "They want to pull a complete makeover on me and wouldn't back down until I submitted to their will. I'll probably be gone most of the day. But I promise that I won't let them go overboard."

"Let me guess," I say, glancing at the other three girls lounging around our tiny living room. "You're going to get her some new outfits to go with her new look?" I ask.

"You better believe it," Caroline says, smirking.

"By the way, I won't be finding any feathers in the toaster this time?" I ask, frowning at Caroline.

"Nope," she assures me.

"No nail polish on the walls?"

"Nope. And yes, your shampoo and conditioner are completely safe and color-free," she says.

"Good. Because I _really_ don't want to have red hair again," I say. "Even if it did wash right out, that was _not_ cool."

Elena giggles. "Anyways, you girls should get going. If Damon's here, that means your boys are probably waiting for you," she tells her girlfriends.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Caroline says, pushing herself to her feet from where she had been lounging on the floor. "Bye, you two."

"Later, Elena," Bonnie says. "Cya, Damon."

"Later," Rebekah says.

With that, the three make their way out of the apartment. I lock up behind them and make my way back to the living room. "Up for a race?" Elena asks, holding up her sky blue Xbox 360 controller.

"You're on," I say, grabbing up my red one. I turn on the TV and the Xbox. I go to flop on the couch next to her but she stops me.

"Careful about my feet," she warns. "We painted our toenails tonight."

I glance at her toes to see florescent orange nail polish winking at me. "Florescent orange?" I ask mockingly.

She chuckles. "Not just florescent," she says. "Glows in the dark, too."

"No way," I scoff.

"I'll prove it to you after our race," she says. "C'mon, start the game. D-class cars."

I roll my eyes and start _Asphalt 8: Airborne._ She has her nifty little Audi while I go with my Tesla. And of course she wins because in spite of having practically no time for herself, she's still able to max out the abilities on her favorite cars while I always try to figure out how to get time and credits to do that. "I call rematch," I declare.

"I can't, Damon," she says regretfully. "I gotta get up and be in class by eight for an exam. And it's exams all day everyday this week. At least after Friday, classes will be over until January. Besides, I thought I was going to prove to you that my toenails now glow in the dark."

"Yeah, this I really do have to see," I admit, turning off the Xbox and the TV. I surge to my feet and hold out my hand with a grin. She smiles and places her hand in mine so I can pull her to her feet. I follow her down the hall towards our rooms, flipping off the living room overhead as I pass the switch. And she's right: her toenails are glowing orange in the dark. "Okay, I'll admit, that _is_ pretty cool," I tell her as I stop outside my room. I had told her in no uncertain terms when we got the apartment that she's getting the master bedroom while I got the slightly smaller second bedroom. She tried to protest but I put my foot down on the subject. "G'nite, Elena."

"G'nite, Damon," she says. She presses a kiss to my cheek in the dark before heading further up the hall to her room. She does that every night.

"Oh, Elena?" I call as she opens her bedroom door.

"Yeah, Damon?" she asks.

"Next time, you need to make your fingernails glow in the dark, too," I tell her. "It would be so much cooler."

She laughs. "I'll tell Caroline that," she promises. "Should I have glow in the dark nails after my makeover?"

"Hey, it's _your_ makeover," I tell her.

"Damon, just answer the question," she says.

"What glow in the dark colors does Caroline have?" I ask.

"Orange, green, blue, pink, red, and yellow. She was talking about picking up a few other colors at some point," she says.

"Glow in the dark blue nails, this weekend, after your makeover," I tell her. "Don't take 'no' for an answer."

"Gotcha," she says. I can hear the smile in her voice. "G'nite, Damon. Pleasant dreams."

"You, too," I tell her before walking into my room and closing my door behind me.

I strip completely and leave my clothes in a pile on the floor before climbing into my bed without turning on the light. Neither Elena nor I are body shy around each other. Not after we've been living together in one small apartment for four long years, sharing one cramped bathroom. That's right: our apartment only has one bathroom. And you have to go through the master bedroom to get to it. It took us a full year to get down with the routine of not really caring about the other walking right into the bathroom while we're in the shower. But it took just three days to remember that we are _not_ to flush the toilet while the other is showering. Having nice hot water suddenly turn ice cold and take forever to heat back up is a damn good way to learn _that_ lesson.

As I make myself comfortable under my sheet, I think back on the course of tonight. The guys had hinted that I have some blind spot when it comes to Elena. I didn't think for a second that they were serious until I came home to overhear Elena talking to her girlfriends about a secret crush she has. Whoever that guy is, he must be completely blind to not see that someone as amazing as Elena has placed her heart in his hands. And I could hear in her voice that she truly is afraid that if she let her feelings be known, he'd kick her out of his life. What kind of an _idiot_ would do that? Hell, _I'd_ probably give up my life of sinful nights for her. But it's not as if she's in love with _me._ Surely I'd know that, right?

Of course, I didn't even know that she was even _interested_ in anyone. But seriously, Elena couldn't possibly be in love with me. I can't help thinking that whoever this dumbass is, he sure is lucky to have a heart as kind and pure as Elena's in his hands, even if he doesn't realize it.

I groan and tell myself to stop thinking about it. I've got be at work at ten and the clock on my windowsill says it's already after one. I gotta be up in seven hours and there's no way in _hell_ I can afford to get caught snoozing on the job again. Liz will _definitely_ put me on probation.

Suddenly a soft knock comes at my door. "Damon?" Elena's timid voice says through the wood.

"Can't sleep?" I ask, already scooting my ass over in my bed.

"No," she admits, opening the door.

"Get in here," I say, bemused. It's not like she hasn't seen me naked before on _many_ occasions. She sighs in relief and makes her way across my room to climb in my bed beside me. She sighs when she realizes that I'm sleeping nude tonight. But she doesn't comment on it so I know whatever's bugging her is serious. "Want to talk about it?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she curls up next to me.

"Katherine called," she whispers.

It takes every ounce of willpower I've built up in my twenty-four years of life to keep my mouth firmly shut on the blue streak I want to give voice to. Katherine is Elena's twin sister who split town practically as soon as Elena got out of the hospital after the crash she was in that killed their parents. She only calls Elena when she wants something. "When?" I ask when I'm firmly back under control.

"Just after you pulled out of the parking lot," she says softly. "Right as I was reaching for my phone to call the girls."

"Explains the nail polish party," I mutter. "What did she want this time?"

"The thing is, she didn't even hint at wanting anything other than to check up on me," she says, her confusion in her voice. "And I couldn't detect any hint of deception. But I can't help feeling uneasy."

"Yeah, your sister's been trouble for four and a half years. I see no reason why she would change her M.O. now," I say.

"I'm worried, Damon. While I couldn't detect any deception when she said she didn't want anything from me this time, I can't really place my finger on why, but something is telling me that she's in trouble again."

I groan, knowing she'll want me to look into it. "Fine, I'll see what I can dig up. If it's nothing criminal, I'll see about making the trouble go away," I tell her. "I'm not going to risk losing my job by covering up a crime, Elena."

"I know that," she assures me. "You're a damn good cop and I'm not going to ask you to take risks with your career."

"Good. And now we need to get some sleep because your alarm is going to go off too damn early as it is and you've got a big day of exams."

Elena presses her lips to my cheek. "Thanks, Damon," she murmurs drowsily. Seconds later, she's asleep.

Elena is the only girl to ever have the honor of being in my bed _without_ sex coming into the equation, even if there are times that I was stark naked when she climbed in the bed next to me. I force my mind off the warm, soft body curled up next to me and force every muscle in my body to relax one at a time, a trick that has never failed in getting me to sleep. And it works like a charm yet again.


	2. Longing

Spoken For  
>DG32173<p>

Sarah: here's chapter two. I hope you enjoy. The chapter starts with Damon's view. Be warned, this chapter is a bit darker than my usual. At least, it is according to my beta.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_mary-bash-mash:_ glad you enjoyed it. Here's the next chapter.

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><p>Chapter 2<br>Longing

I don't have to do anything more than simply wake up to know that Elena is not in the bed next to me where she was when I last saw her. I don't have to touch the sheets to know that there is no lingering trace of her body heat. I don't even have to open my eyes and look at a clock to know she's been gone from the apartment for over an hour already. Because it _never_ fails that this scenario happens every morning after she comes to my room to seek comfort in my presence in the middle of the night because of her damn sister. If I had Katherine Gilbert in front of me I'd be sorely tempted to strangle her with my bare hands. Because every single time I wake up to an empty, cold bed with Elena long gone from her position curled next to me, I am overcome with the longing to wake up just _once_ to see her still asleep next to me, curled trustingly against me.

But there's a reason I kick my lovers out after spending the evening wrapped in their embrace. There's a reason I don't let my lovers get to know me any better than my skills in the bedroom. I had taken a chance on loving a woman once. And I paid for it big time with a broken heart. Elena had done for me what I did for her the time she had ended up broken-hearted. And I mean every single thing, up to and _including_ using her three different black belts on Sage. Sage ended up in the hospital and is paralyzed from the waist down with the absolute inability to feel _anything_ in the paralyzed regions of her body. It took a _lot_ of fast talking to keep Elena out of Juvie. Thankfully the day she turned eighteen, her juvenile record was sealed shut and colleges aren't allowed access to it.

Elena and I both know what it's like when what you thought was love everlasting turns out to be a cruel and twisted joke. But we've always been there for each other from Day One. Her mother had just had the twins. I was going on three and I was looking to be a big brother in the fall. Miranda and Grayson were best friends with my parents. About two weeks after the twins were born; Miranda brought them over while she had girl time with my mom. And as soon as I laid eyes on her, I couldn't take my eyes off the slightly smaller of the twins. Miranda found me sitting right in front of Elena's car seat, staring at her in awe.

"_Her name's Elena,"_ she had told me. I repeated the name and Elena opened her eyes and looked right into mine. _"Do you want to hold her?"_ Miranda asked softly. I had looked up at my mom with the best pleading expression I could come up with. Mom had nodded her permission so I whispered _"Yes"._ Miranda had gently unbuckled Elena and showed me precisely how to hold the tiny little baby. After that, Elena and I were pretty much inseparable, spending as much time together as we could get by with. It never mattered that I was six days shy of being three years older than her. It never mattered that my friends were always ragging on me about letting 'the kid' follow me around everywhere. We were always right there when the other was falling apart, doing everything in our power to put them right back together again. One of the hardest days in our lives was the day I told her I had been accepted to the best police academy in the state and that it was a four hour drive away so I'd have to live there. We were a right solid mess, but neither of us was ashamed of our tearful farewell.

It was the toughest three years of my life. And as soon as I graduated, I got the news about Elena's car wreck. I was actually pulled over for going nearly twenty miles over the speed limit _on the highway._ I was practically hysterical as I told the officer that I was trying to get back to my best friend, that she was in the hospital after a car wreck, and that no one would tell me anything more than that. I have a funny feeling that the guy was thinking I was downplaying Elena's role in my life considering how hysterical I was and that was why he let me go after telling me he hopes she makes it.

I was a complete wreck when I burst into the hospital, demanding to know her room number. The fact that she was in the ICU and hadn't woken up yet nearly undid me. Seeing her attached to all those wires and tubes and hearing the beeps that were the only sign that she was alive _did._ I pretty much _lived_ at the hospital from that second until the day she was released. _The_ hardest day in my life was the day I had to tell Elena that she had survived the crash but her parents hadn't. Her doctor and a nurse were arguing about whether they should tell her or not. I got right up in the doctor's face and told him in no uncertain terms that I _was_ going to tell Elena that her parents were dead when she woke up and there was no _way_ he should _ever_ believe that he had the right to keep a sixteen-year-old girl in the dark about such a catastrophe.

It was a shock when I was told that _I_ was to be responsible for taking care of Elena from that point to her eighteenth birthday. But we found this apartment, I got a job on the local police force, and things have been this way ever since. On her eighteenth birthday, I told her that she was now free to move out if she wanted. She just smirked and said she was quite happy with where she lived, thank you. I didn't question it and she didn't offer her reasons for staying.

I sigh and open my eyes, deciding that I might as well get up. I glance at the clock on my windowsill and see that my alarm is close to going off anyways. I flick it off and climb out of bed. I grab a clean uniform from my closet and a pair of boxer-briefs from my dresser before making my way to the bathroom attached to Elena's room to get a shower.

Even though the drive to Mystic Falls Police Department is only about twenty minutes, I like getting up two hours before my shift starts so I have time to chill before work because as part of one of the best detective teams on the force, you never know _what_ you're going to face on the job that day. And it's also a good way to be able to enjoy a nice big breakfast before work.

When I walk in the kitchen, I see that Elena had left a note on the fridge for me. I grab it and read it:

_Hey, there's hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage keeping warm in the oven. Enjoy and have a good day at work. Oh, and I'll be late coming home tonight so I was hoping you could take over dinner duty for me. I gotta run a few errands and then I have a conference call with my publisher and agent about my next book. Not to mention I have work tonight so whatever you do, __no pizza.__ I get off at eleven and I swear I'll be hungry enough to eat cardboard by the time I get home._

I grin and open the oven to see a covered metal tray on the middle rack. I use a potholder to pull it out before turning off the oven. I take my food to the small table in the dining area between the kitchen and the living room and dig in. Even as simple as the food is, the food Elena cooks always tastes better than anyone else's. I keep asking what her secret is but she always replies with a shrug and a small smile before changing the subject.

When I finish my breakfast, I wash my few dishes and put them in the dish rack before grabbing my keys and making my way out of the apartment. By the time I pull my Camaro into my designated spot at the station, I already know that today's going to be a long day. I had installed a police CB unit in my car shortly after joining the force so that I would have a heads up on what kind of day it will be. In a big city, an armed robbery, two hit-and-runs, and a speeder before ten in the morning would actually mean a slow day. But Mystic Falls is a tiny town with just the Sherriff's office looking over the whole county, most of which is countryside. Today's going to be trouble. I just hope that I'll be able to look into the meaning behind Katherine's call last night before Rick and I get pulled into it as well because once we're dragged in, I won't get another chance today.

That is why the second I clock in, I immediately make my way to my desks and start pulling up Elena's phone records from last night on my computer. It took Elena coming down to the station and giving Liz both verbal and written permission for me to be able to do this whenever I felt I needed to. There was only one incoming call that I don't recognize the number of, though the area code sends a chill down my spine. I trace the number and, sure enough, it leads to a pay phone in Charlottesville, which is less than an hour away. Elena is _not_ going to be happy. As if she needs any more trouble on her plate.

"What are you looking at?" Rick asks from behind me.

"Katherine called Elena last night and Elena had this vibe. She wanted me to check into the call," I tell my partner. "Turns out the call came from a pay phone in the Wal-Mart of Charlottesville."

"Not good," he says.

"Nope," I agree.

"Salvatore, Saltzman," Liz calls from her office.

"I have a feeling that today's going to suck," I tell Rick as I close down my work for Elena before pushing away from my desk.

"I hate it when you get those feelings because they're always right," he mutters.

**Elena**

11pm that night

I groan as I fumble my key into the door leading into the apartment I share with Damon. The fact that he hasn't texted me about what he had come up with in regards to Katherine's call last night tells me that one of two things happened. Either he was so swamped at work that he didn't get a chance to look into it _or_ he looked into it and the information he got is the kind he'd rather tell me in person because I'm going to need his help dealing with it. Either of those possibilities are bad news on top of a rotten day.

Technically, neither Damon nor I have any need to be working. We're both descendants of the Founding Families of Mystic Falls and as such have enormous bank accounts to draw from. We could so afford a much better place than this cramped apartment. But neither of us felt right about spoiling ourselves the way we are capable of. We both prefer to do good hard work. And we bust our asses at our jobs. Not to mention that I attend college full-time and am a published author on top of working part-time as a pizza delivery girl. Damon had dreamed of being a detective ever since he was a kid while his brother Stefan was determined to become a doctor at the local ER. They worked hard to make their dreams come true. Stefan's currently a resident but he's hoping to be able to stay on when his residency is over.

"Elena, that you?" Damon calls as I shut the door behind me and lock up.

"Yeah," I call back tiredly. I smile slightly at the scrumptious smells filling the apartment. "What's for dinner?" I ask, slipping out of my sneakers and setting my purse and keys on the table in the entry hall.

"Chicken Alfredo and stuffed peppers," he calls back. "You're right on time because I just finished cooking."

"Long day?" I ask, making my way into the kitchen to see Damon putting portions of the meal onto two paper plates.

"Suicide," he says shortly. "Kid was eighteen."

I wince. "I'm sorry," I say softly, gently resting a hand on his arm.

"It never gets any easier," he admits. "Worst part about it was that his girlfriend of four years blames herself because he had caught her kissing another guy just a few hours before his body was found. And the note he left made it pretty clear that she was right about his reasons."

"Any other details you can tell me?" I ask, grabbing a couple of forks from the silverware drawer while Damon takes our plates to the dining room table.

"If he kept his track record up, he was going to be valedictorian come spring. He'd already been getting acceptance letters from the Ivy League colleges," he says, taking his seat and accepting the fork I hand him.

I sit across from him. "Why would he give up such a great future because she cheated on him?" I ask.

"He didn't care about any future that didn't include her," Damon says, picking at his food. "She's the one who found him hanging from the rafters in his garage."

I suck in a sharp breath. I frown at how he's playing with his food rather than eating it. "Damon, I don't care if you're not hungry. You need to eat," I tell him firmly. He grimaces and takes a bite of his stuffed peppers. "To change to a less dreary subject, you won't believe what Mason tried to pull in the conference call this afternoon," I say.

Damon's lips twitch. "What'd he try to get you to do this time?" he asks. He knows that Mason Lockwood, my publisher, is capable of trying to pull off the stupidest of demands.

"He was determined to have the sequel to _Eternal_ on the shelves by Valentine's Day. I didn't have to say a word because Andie let him have an earful on how impossible that is with how busy my schedule is," I say. Andie Starr is my agent and we're very close friends.

He groans. "You need a different publisher," he says. "Or at least someone else in the company to work with."

"I've got Andie to keep him in line when he starts trying to demand the impossible," I assure him. "She knows just how busy my schedule is and that writing is more of a hobby for me than a career. And, unfortunately, Mason's the best in the company, even if his demands are often impossible. He doesn't understand how someone as talented as he says I am is _not_ interested in making a full-time career out of writing. I assured him that I _am_ working on the sequel and that after this week of exams are over I _will_ be able to devote more time to the book. But the best I can try for is for it to be on the shelves around Easter."

"Are you going to let me look at this sequel?" he asks.

I give him a look. "I told you, Damon, only my editors will see it before it is in print," I remind him. "Anyways, did you get a chance to look into the call I got from Katherine last night?"

He grimaces. "The only incoming call to your phone last night that I didn't recognize traced back to a pay phone in the Charlottesville Wal-Mart," he says.

I feel the color draining from my face. "That's the closest she's been since she left," I whisper.

"As far as we know," he reminds me. "She hasn't used a number traceable to herself since she left. Not to contact anyone here, at least. It was always pay phones and disposable cell phones. For all we know, she could very easily have been as close or closer in the past four and a half years."

I sigh. "Let's just finish eating. I'd rather not talk about her. If she comes back, we'll deal with it. If she doesn't, we'll keep going as we have been since she left," I say before taking a bite of my food.

I glance up to see he's watching me closely. He knows that Katherine and I had once been just as close as he and I are. Katherine and Damon never really hit it off. When she abandoned Jeremy and me almost as soon as I got released from the hospital after the crash the killed Mom and Dad, Damon was my rock in the sea of anguish I felt at my twin's betrayal. And he's been my rock ever since.

Damon sighs and turns his attention back to his food. We eat in silence after that. But silence between us has _never_ been uncomfortable. I've always sworn that I can clearly remember the first time I laid eyes on Damon, though I was only two-weeks-old at the time. He was fascinated by me at the very young age of three. I've never felt safer than when I'm around him. He captured my heart as he pieced it back together after my first and only boyfriend cheated on me. But I have never dared to tell him the true extent of my feelings for him because I know everything will change if he were to find out. He made it clear after Sage nearly destroyed him that he will never allow himself the risk of falling in love again. Sure, it had hurt when he said that to me, but he didn't know how I felt about him. And I'm not going to make things between us awkward by declaring undying love to him. I'd rather friendship than nothing.

"Up for a race?" he asks when we're done cleaning up from our meal and putting the leftovers in the fridge.

"I wish I could," I say regretfully after a glance at the clock reveals that it's going on 12:30am. _"You_ may have Thursdays off, but I still have to be in class for an exam by nine, no matter _how_ late my night is. But I promise you, after exams are over Friday, I'll make time to spend the entire evening with you. My manager said that I could have Friday off to recuperate from all the exams this week. I need to get some sleep so I don't fall asleep over my exams. G'nite, Damon."

"G'nite, Elena," he replies. "I guess I'll read for a bit before heading to bed myself."

I lean over and press a kiss to his cheek before making my way to my room to change into some PJs and go to bed. I don't see how a makeover will make any difference in how Damon views me. He's seen me stark naked when he walked into the bathroom while I was in the shower, for crying out loud. The sliding glass doors on our shower are clear rather than opaque.

As I slip under my sheets, I wonder what the girls are planning. They'll have no choice but to use glow in the dark blue nail polish because Damon had requested it and the makeover is supposedly what they are coming up with so that he'll see what he's missing out on with me. I sigh and force myself to stop thinking about Damon. It's hard enough to sleep in my own bed when he's just down the hall. I close my eyes and force every muscle in my body to relax, a trick Damon taught me that is a surefire way to fall asleep even when I'm stressed. Within seconds, I'm fast asleep.


	3. Friday

Spoken For  
>DG32173<p>

Sarah: welcome to chapter 3. I hope you enjoy. This chapter starts with Elena.

_**NOTICE**_  
>Pharmacophobia really is an actual phobia that people suffer from in real life. I had to do some research to find the name. I found it on an internet index of phobias. If you want the list, drop me a review or a PM and I'll give you the URL for the index.<p>

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_nallemorin:_ I'm glad you love it so much. Here's more. The makeover is next chapter.

_my 2 guys:_ here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the last two.

_jairem:_ yes, Damon _is_ blind for not seeing what's right in front of him. In this chapter you'll find out how he really feels for Elena. As for your review for Chapter 2, yes, Elena is a very tough girl. As Damon mentioned, it took a lot of fast talking to get her out of Juvie. He also mentioned that it had gone in her juvenile record, which was sealed when she turned eighteen. She did not get away with it completely. The makeover is next chapter.

_mokichaas:_ I'm glad! Here's the next chapter.

_mary-bash-mash:_ I'm so glad you're enjoying my attempt at an all-human fanfic. I hope you continue to enjoy what I have in store for my darling readers.

_Mallorie B:_ here's more.

_oftheseaandintothewinds:_ geez, you got a long name. Here's more.

_kfulmer7:_ you know, you are the only reviewer who commented on what Damon experienced at work in Chapter 2 so far. I'm discussing with my beta on the possibility of Katherine showing up. As for whether she'll push Elena and Damon together if she does show, well, you'll see what she and Damon thought of each other even before the crash in this chapter. They weren't exactly best buds. Here's more.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<br>Friday

I sigh as I pull into my parking space at the apartment complex Damon and I live at. Damon's Camaro isn't in his parking space so he's still at work. I guess dinner's on me tonight. I lock up my 2008 Ford Escape and make my way inside. Sure, we probably could live at the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon and Stefan's childhood home which is now in Damon's name, but there are too many dark memories in that old house for me to be comfortable living there. And Damon knew this. As soon as it was made clear that _he_ was my legal guardian after my parents died, we pooled our resources and bought our apartment. Admittedly, our resources could have gotten us a much grander place to call home but we wanted _away_ from the luxurious lifestyle we grew up knowing. So Stefan and Rebekah live in the boarding house while Damon takes charge of the bills for both the boarding house and our apartment.

I stop by the mailboxes on the first floor to grab what little mail Damon and I got today before heading upstairs to our second floor apartment. Another sigh crosses my lips, this one of relief, as I shut the apartment door behind me, automatically locking the deadbolt _and_ the knob. Damon had drilled _that_ habit into me within the first week of living here. Sure, Mystic Falls is a small, close-knit community, but we still have our fair share of criminals. And Damon had gotten a couple of the undercover officers at the station to make sure that I took the precaution of locking both the deadbolt and the knob when I'm home alone. Admittedly, one of them came from the experience with a broken wrist because he hadn't actually believed Damon when he was told of my martial arts capabilities. But Damon's point was made. Deadbolt and knob get locked whenever I'm home alone. When we're both here and not expecting company, we've got three other types of locks that Damon had insisted on installing.

I kick off my sneakers and leave my purse and keys on the table in the entry. I take the mail with me as I head into the kitchen to start dinner because I am _starving._ I had to be in another conference call with Andie and Mason about my next book during my lunch break and I didn't get a chance to ingest more than a can of Pepsi before I had to cut the call short because it was time to get to my next exam.

I sort through the mail and am startled to find an envelope hand-addressed to me with no return address. I've only seen this particular handwriting a handful of times before and it has never been good. I set the envelope to the side and finish sorting the mail into stacks of who it goes to. I then get to work opening all my mail except for the peculiar envelope. A few Christmas cards, a bill, and a bit of junk mail sums up what I open. I take the Christmas cards and set them up on the entertainment set in the living room next to the others we've been receiving the past couple of weeks.

I then take stock of what I have to work with to make dinner. In the end, I decide that tonight's Taco Night since we haven't had one in forever. So I set to work getting everything ready. By the time I'm nearly done cooking the meat, I hear Damon come in. "Welcome home," I call.

"Thanks," he calls back. He apparently takes a moment to identify the smells in the air because his next words are, "So, it's Taco Night, huh?"

"Yep," I call back, stirring the meat and looking for the slightest hint that any of it might be undercooked. "But we've got a problem."

"What problem?" he asks, coming in the kitchen while he shrugs out of his jacket.

I point my spatula at the envelope on the counter next to the fridge. "Another mystery envelope," I reply.

He groans. "That guy needs to give up already," he says, grabbing it up and ripping it open to pull out the single sheet of paper. "You've made it perfectly clear you're never going to meet up with him."

"And you've never got any clues as to who he is?" I ask, turning off the burner under the saucepan I had made the taco meat in.

"Only fingerprints I've ever found belonged to us and the mail lady. No trace DNA except for ours. You've seen how he uses tape to seal the envelope so we can't get a saliva sample," he replies as he reads what is written. "He wants to meet you at the park across from town hall this Sunday at noon."

"You know, there _is_ someone else whose fingerprints and DNA could be on there that would be mistaken as mine," I say slowly.

"We'd recognize Katherine's handwriting, Elena," he says.

"Not necessarily," I correct. "If you'll recall, she was excellent at forging other people's handwriting."

"Wouldn't Katherine give some _hint_ that she's the one sending these letters? She _is_ your twin, after all," he points out.

I sigh. "To be honest, I don't know what she'd do if she were trying to meet up with me," I tell him. "That crash sophomore year changed her into someone I don't recognize. As you remember, I turned to you for support. Jeremy turned to Bonnie. Katherine had no one _she_ could turn to in her grief. I was in no shape to be there for my twin. And by the time I was stable enough to help her, she had already fled Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, well, I highly doubt Katherine would send anonymous letters to you to schedule a meeting," he says. "You're not going. End of discussion."

I sigh. Damon will do whatever he has to do to reinforce that decision, even if it means playing my shadow on Sunday just so that he can make sure I don't go meet whoever is sending the letters. "Fine," I agree reluctantly. "Anyways, dinner's ready. Let's eat."

**Damon**

An hour later

I know Elena's not happy about the decision I made in regards to the meeting whoever is sending those anonymous letters is trying to set up. But I also know that _she_ knows I will reinforce that decision whatever way I have to. She was quiet and sullen while we ate our tacos and through cleanup. But I managed to talk her into playing the Xbox with me and she's finally back to normal as she does her damnedest to kick my ass in one of our multitude of fighting games. She may be a pro on the racing games, but I'm the champ on the fighting ones.

"You know, you're never going to win by playing keep-away," I tell her as her character dances around mine just out of reach on our forty-two inch widescreen plasma TV, one of our _few_ concessions to the luxury life we are more than able to afford.

"Who says I'm playing keep-away?" she asks before performing one of her character's special moves from behind mine which leaves mine flat on his back with barely any health.

"Okay, I'll admit, I _really_ should have seen that coming," I say, forcing my guy to get to his feet. She prefers the characters that have special moves that deal massive damage from behind while I go for tough guys that like to get up close and personal to beat the shit out of their opponents.

"Better be careful, Damon. Just a couple of hits in the right places and your guy's a goner," she teases.

"Fight's not over 'til it's over, Elena," I retort with a grin.

"Yeah, well, it's _over,"_ she says, somehow getting her character behind mine _again_ and throwing him on the ground, which kills my guy. "Yes!"

"Celebrate your victory while you can, because next round's _mine,"_ I say, flashing a cocky grin at her.

She rolls her eyes. "It's a shame for you that we agreed to play _Asphalt 8: Airborne_ after that round," she points out as she gets up to swap games.

I smirk. "I spent most of the day yesterday working on my Tesla," I tell her.

"You still won't beat my Audi," she says as she slides the game disk into the Xbox.

"Never know," I say with a grin.

"Seriously, Damon, there's only one of us who actually plays the career mode with any amount of frequency. I racked up all those credits that bought all those cars. And I'm telling you, there is _no way_ you'll beat my E-Tron," she says as she returns to her seat. "I'm the one with the fastest times on all the courses in career mode."

"Oh _really?"_ I ask. "I can tell you right now that yesterday I _beat_ your times on Season 1's D-courses with my Tesla."

She rolls her eyes. "Season 1's D-courses are the easiest ones in the game. A good car can grind Season 1 Nevada Classic D-course for over a thousand credits by repeatedly getting first place." she says haughtily. "Here, I'll tell you what. I'll set you up on Season _2's_ first D-course classic with your Tesla with my Audi as a ghost driver. Let's see what you can do."

I get the feeling I'm going to regret this but I decide to go along with it. "Fine," I say.

She sets up the first race and I have to admit, it's a _lot_ tougher than Season 1's. Thirty minutes of repeated attempts to make first place in London classic later, I concede defeat. I groan and turn off the Xbox 360 and the TV. "Okay, I'll admit it, I suck at racing games," I say in response to her cocky little smirk.

"You did pretty well," she allows. "It took me a while to consistently beat the course."

"How do you even have _time_ to hone your skills?" I demand. "Your schedule is way more crowded than mine."

She shrugs. "I make time. For example, sometimes when I can't sleep and I know you have to be up early, I come out here and race with the volume on mute until I'm too tired to concentrate."

"What about that relaxation method I taught you?" I ask.

She shrugs again. "It doesn't always work," she admits. "And you know how I am about medicine."

I grimace. Ever since she was a kid, Elena's had a phobic aversion to taking any medicine. It's a very real phobia, officially called pharmacophobia. Her fear stems from having read one of her father's medical journals containing an article about the hazards and risks involved in taking the majority of modern medicine. The fact that she had been only five-years-old and had understood enough of what she had read to develop a lifelong phobia that leaves her a quivering mess over taking something as simple as a Halls cough drop proves just how intelligent she really is, for all that she's always talked and acted like anyone else in her age group. By all rights, she _should_ have graduated high school the same time I did – maybe even _before_ me – but she outright refused to skip even a single grade.

"One day you're going to run across something that you can't find an herbal remedy for," I tell her as I always do when the subject of her pharmacophobia comes up. "Then what will you do?"

She grimaces. "I'll deal with it when it comes up, _if_ it comes up," she gives her usual response. "So far, nothing has come along that I couldn't fix without taking medicine."

"Elena, you're going to have to face your fears one day," I tell her.

"Yeah, well, today's not that day," she says. "Besides, the reasoning behind my fears is quite valid. Until you can give me undeniable proof that the reasons for my fear are no longer sound, there is very little chance you'll change my mind."

"Your anxiety issues with medicine can very easily get you in major trouble," I tell her gently. Gently because I might as well be flat-out reminding her of the crash that killed her parents. When she woke up in the hospital to see a nurse injecting medicine in her IV, she freaked the fuck out. It was a good thing I was just returning from grabbing a coffee in the cafeteria or Elena could very easily have had a heart attack and the staff would have had no idea _why_ she panicked so much her heart gave out. It took nearly an hour to calm her down from her panic attack. At the same time I had to explain to the staff exactly what was going on because Mystic Falls Community Hospital has never had a patient who suffered from pharmacophobia. I didn't believe it until my brother became a resident there and was cleared to look through old case files. Elena was the only patient in the entire history of the hospital to suffer from the uncontrollable fear of taking medicine.

"I have you to keep me out of trouble," she says quietly.

I know better than to give the obvious reply to _that._ There are only two things that scare Elena more than taking medicine. One is drowning, which dates back to the crash that killed her parents. The other is facing life without me. Even the merest _suggestion_ that I might not always be around to pull her out of trouble is enough to send her into a panic attack that takes _hours_ to soothe her from. And then she follows me around like a shadow for days, sacrificing her entire schedule during that time period.

Rather than point out that I'm not Superman and she's not Lois Lane, I pull her into my arms and reassure her that I'll always protect her. It's at moments like these, when Elena allows me to see her at her most vulnerable, that I feel especially honored to have such a tight bond with her. I spend nearly half an hour reassuring her of my determination to keep her safe at all costs while she trembles like a leaf in a hurricane. When she finally calms down, I breathe a sigh of relief.

"C'mon, kitten, let's get some sleep. Your girlfriends are going to be over bright and early tomorrow and they still don't realize that we are _not_ morning people in this apartment," I say, standing up. I gently tug her to her feet.

"Are you _ever_ going to let up on that nickname?" she asks as she follows me out of the living room. She flicks off the lights as we pass the switch.

"Nope. I keep telling you, you're stuck with it," I tell her. I proceed down the hall past my room and enter her room. After spending an evening reassuring her that I won't let trouble get to her, I always spend the night in her bed as she curls up next to me. She needs the emotional comfort of my physical presence next to her most on such nights. I make my way to the near side of the bed and strip down to my boxer-briefs before climbing in.

Elena makes her way to the far side of her bed and changes into her PJs in the dark before climbing in and curling up as close to me as she can get. She wraps her arm over my waist and rests her head on my chest. "G'nite, Damon," she says softly, already more asleep than awake.

"G'nite, Elena," I tell her, using my right arm to hold her close. Moments like this, with Elena curled trustingly against me, are ones that I value most. Elena has never been one to trust just anyone. It takes time and patience to cultivate her trust in you. And a single moment of carelessness can undo _months_ of work in gaining her trust and it will be doubly hard to gain it back again. And I'm the only one in our circle of friends that Elena has managed to bring herself to trust completely and unconditionally.

I stroke my fingers through Elena's hair as her breathing slowly evens out as she falls asleep. Even as she sleeps, I find myself thinking back on the conversation I overheard between Elena and her girlfriends Wednesday. Why hadn't I noticed her falling in love with someone? I've paid closer attention than usual to her actions since then but I don't see the least sign that would tell me she's secretly interested in anyone. But, given the fact I hadn't even known she was secretly interested in someone before overhearing that conversation, I have to wonder who it could be she'd rather be friends with than take the risk of letting them know her true feelings. Only an idiot wouldn't be grateful to have won her heart!

But even as I try to figure this out, I can't help but feel insanely jealous of whoever it is that won her heart. There have been occasions where I was forced to face the fact that Elena is not a kid anymore. She grew up into a beautiful young woman. A young woman who is not the least bit shy about crawling in my bed at night even though I'm naked because she's having trouble sleeping and being close to me is a huge comfort to her. And every so often I find myself grinding my teeth over the thought that she's one day going to find someone she'll want to get married to.

To be perfectly honest, even if only with myself, I've had a thing for Elena for several years now. And in being honest about that, I also have to be honest in that I tend to have some highly erotic dreams including her, particularly on nights when she's curled up sleeping next to me. And it's not like I can _do_ anything about the fantasies that plague me after catching a glimpse of her nude body in the shower. Elena had told me in no uncertain terms that while she does understand the fact that there are times I may need to 'please myself' to get rid of a fantasy or two, she will not be at all accommodating if I were to take care of it in the shower since she uses the same shower. And taking care of it in my room is not even _on_ my to-do list. I usually resort to ice cold showers to cool my desire for her.

I stifle a groan and concentrate forcing every muscle in my body to relax, knowing I'm not going to get any sleep with the way my thoughts were heading. In moments, I'm fast asleep.


End file.
